Quick visa on road between Turkey, Greece

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The Turkish authorities are working on adopting an easy-visa procedure with their Greek counterparts, according to Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) head Başaran Ulusoy.

Ulusoy added that both parties expected a rise in tourist figures between the two countries with an initial “coffee visa” program. This term comes from the fact that Turkey and Greece are very close geographically and tourism representatives say it should be much easier for the citizens of these countries to take out visas to visit other countries, even just to have a coffee. 

A TüRSAB delegation visited Greece in March to discuss and facilitate the process, among other things, Başaran said, describing the talks as “very positive.” 

“Some 509,000 Greek people visited Turkey in the first nine months of the year, and around 133,000 Turks visited Greece in the first quarter of 2013. We believe these figures will increase much more when bilateral visa requirements are eased,” he said.